Tripadvisor Reviews - Couples Negril - Little Concerned?

Hi

Not wanting to get off on an entirely wrong foot, the wife and I are booked onto our first Couples holiday in November and are very, very excited about it. Only two months to go!

Now - question about tripadvisor. We use tripadvisor a lot, and it is the best resource we think to ensuring you get the best holiday experience. We also realise its limitation and that people have a higher propensity to post if they have a bad experience.

Most posts on Couples Negril seem honest. Most are positive. They talk about people having a great time and great service and we tend to find those which talk about bad service when others say it is great are those that you have to take with a pinch of salt.

On CN, there's been a little theme of late - sure we know the rooms are a bit dated but people seem to be becoming a little more critical, but more recently the talk of the condition of the water in the pools and the pool loungers being covered in mold have started to worry us. Mosquitos we are used to, this is the Caribbean lets not forget, but infestations and bed bugs??

I wonder if there are any of you here that have been to CN really recently who could help allay our fears? We're committed to a Couples holiday as on paper it looks just like our type of thing. We have three other resorts to swap to, potentially, but is there any need?

See below posted on another thread, our room was clean and kept clean all week, no insects, AC worked great, was recently painted, bed linens were perfectly fine, bascially we spent from 530 PM to 7 PM in our room getting ready for dinner, than 10/11PM going to bed for the night, and early mornings on our balcony for coffee, so the room they provide is not over the top elegant it is simple, clean and tropically decorated, yes some grout between the tiles may be a little discolored, but its not mold or dirt, the only way to get its natural look back would be to empty the entire room and power wash all the floors, which we do see being done in unoccupied rooms during the slow season in August when we are there. Actually we kept forgetting to turn the card on the table next to our bed to conscious from unconscious the first few days and they kept changing our sheets every day!!! We always stay in 1108 or 1109 and have never had an issue with our rooms.

Hi we were there Aug 6th thru 16th and that is basically the time period of the poster on TA, I do not know what resort or planet he was staying at but it was not CN. Yes the resort is not the ritz it is a Caribbean style decorated resort, grounds are impeccable, staff is amazing, food !!! LOL we live outside Manahattan in Northern NJ and have the finest restaurants and believe me our last two trips to CN the food was AMAZING. As far as their clothing not drying outside their room come on its summer in the Caribbean its called humidity. Piano bar does not smell at leats not during the late evning and during the wine and cheese hour it did not, and to cold, ridiculous it has to be everyone is dancing working up a sweat!!! Othaheiti is cool as it is Air conditioned but it should be you are required to wear long pants and dress up I would think you want to be comfortable.
Some people make valid points in their reviews and complaints but some have one little incident and hit Tripadvisor and needlessly bash the resort.

Wingerii- I had the same concerns. It seems like many of the recent positive reviews are actually from people who have stayed there in the past and not necessarily recently.
I too am looking forward from hearing from people on this board.

My wife and I are going to C.N. Sept. 19-26. I hope this is not true. We got married at C.S.A. in 2007 and it was the best so i hope this trip is the same, or I am going to be very hurt. We all spend a good amount of cash for a vacation with Couples and I would hope this is not true.

We haven't been to CN in about a year now but have been a total of 3 times in the past 4 years and are hoping to return next year. I remember right before our second trip I read some reviews on Trip Advisor that made me question our choice of returning to CN But as soon as we arrived, I realized that those few reviews that made me nervous were obviously made by people that are just way too picky and aren't happy with anything.

Yes the rooms are maybe a bit dated, but always exceptionally clean. I've seen them clean the rooms after a someone checks out and it's nothing less than I would do in my own home...top to bottom.

As far as the pools and chairs...they are cleaned EVERY morning. We have stayed as long as 10 days and every morning you will see them scrubbing the tile in the main pool. And the pool near the water sports huts are cleaned and closed on a nightly basis. Chairs AND the floats are taken and hosed down every morning before being neatly lined up on the beach. We have been there usually in February so much more the "height" of the season and still see this done every day. You will not want for towels, a chair or a float either as no one plays the chair game at this resort. We made the mistake of trying Mexico this past February and had a hard time finding chairs at 8 am and they had maybe 30 floats total for 400 some guests. Their is a float on every chair at CN and most were brand new when we visited in 2011.

Please remember that Jamaica is extremely humid in the summer. I live in Michigan and can't escape a bit of mold on my fence or lawn chairs either and I don't even live by the water.

You will love CN and fall in love with the hotel and the staff just as we did. No worries I promise!!!

We'll be making our 4th trip to CN next May. We don't even want to try another resort in fear we'll be disappointed. CN has become our second home. Fact is, there are some people who, no matter what the circumstances are not happy with anything. I call them "Professional Bitchers" Avoid them!

wingerii , wahoowah and Ohio Beach Bum, There are quite a few couples who have been to a Couples Resort over 50 times. I can't imagine anyone spending that kind of money on a sub-par establishment that has bad service, mold and bed bugs, and returning time after time. We are going back for our third trip to Couples and I can assure you that if those bad reviews were true, nobody would return for a second trip.... let alone 50, 60 or 70 times!
No place is perfect, but I can tell you Couples comes as close to perfect than any other resort we have ever been to. You are going to love it there.

We have been going to CN every 6 months for the last year and a half, with two more booked (one in very early November 2012 and one next May 2013) and one booked to CSA (early December 2013). We were just there in late May 2012 and we are looking forward to our trip in November with excitement! Most of the reviews floor me, especially when we have been there at the same time. Personally, we don't have any problems with the rooms and in fact, we love the way they are decorated. The service is impeccable and we have many great stories to tell about the personalized experience given to us by some employees, who have gone completely out of their way to give us very touching and long lasting memories. I can't say enough about some of the employees at CN, these people are outstanding. As far as the floaties, I have personally been there while one of our favorite employees washed and scrubbed a large number of the floaties every day before leaving, so I know they truly do try to take care of them and keep them clean. Trip Advisor does need to be taken with a grain of salt sometimes. Relax, you are going to love CN!

we have been to another hotel in negril 4 times and thought it was paradise.this year we needed a change so we booked couples negril and found real paradise.staff at both resorts is comparable,rooms are nicer at couples,greater selection of food also,grounds are immaculate and larger beach than sandals.no racing for a place on the beach.booked next year 2 weeks after we got home.

I haven't read the review but we just got back on 09/05 after staying 10 days. No problems Mon! The rooms are clean and they were revamping 2 of the buildings while we were there (bldg 7 & one other). We stayed in blgd 1 on the 3rd floor. The staff does a wonderful job of keeping the rooms & the total resort very clean. There are some minor dated areas (caulking in bathroom) but doesn't distract from the stay. Some of the loungers could be replaced, but there are enough of them that you can look around and find several in good condition. The pool is beautiful and they test the water several times a day. Go & have a fabulous time! No bed bugs or any infestations that we saw or heard about. Do take bug spray for the sand fleas on the beach at night though but these are not exclusive to Couples, they are throughout the Carribbean. Have fun!!!!

We'll be making our 4th trip to CN next May. We don't even want to try another resort in fear we'll be disappointed. CN has become our second home. Fact is, there are some people who, no matter what the circumstances are not happy with anything. I call them "Professional Bitchers" Avoid them!

All, thank you so much for your responses and views. We feel suitably reassured - it's always helpful to remind oneself that tripadvisor has its limitations.

I know you shouldn't wish time away but November can't come quickly enough!

Wingerii;
as for as Tripadvisor is concerned, you have to remember it is pretty wide open for anybody to post a review on, including any one with a beef, a bored teenager, or a competitor. Which more often than not, that is what they turn out to be. They will usually mention other resorts, and at least one numerous times. There is the tell tale sign!!
All of us old timers on the board here remember how we were a little nervous on are fist time, but now about 90% of us call it "Home", and would go nowhere else. Don't get me wrong some of us do try other places, but that's just it......we try. We only call one place "home" and when we get serious about it, Couples is it.
You will heard things on this board like...The couples family....or" I still stay in touch with such and such staff member"....or "is so and so still there" we love them. Honestly does that sound like a resort, or a place you want to just always come back to?
So, go enjoy, relax and take it easy. Then come back and make all envious by writing a long review, and let us live vicariously through you for just a little while.
Safe travels

We just returned and had a great time. The rooms are a little underwhelming...but life goes on. The pool chairs were definitely the newest/cleanest but there were plenty of clean ones on the beach. Some of them did need to be tossed. I saw a young man cleaning the loungers every morning. The piano bar never smelled and your clothes will not dry outside...use the multiple hooks that are in your room and they will dry very fast. We were fine on the beach all day with no bugs problems and during the bonfire we were good but when we went out for the managers sunset toast we were quickly bitten...we quickly retreated pool side to enjoy our cocktail and sunset. Go and have a great time!